Hypertension is a condition from which many people suffer. It is a constant state of elevated blood pressure which can be caused by a number of factors, for example, genetics, obesity or diet. Baroreceptors located in the walls of blood vessels act to regulate blood pressure. They do so by sending information to the central nervous system (CNS) regarding the extent to which the blood vessel walls are stretched by the pressure of the blood flowing therethrough. In response to these signals, the CNS adjusts certain parameters so as to maintain a stable blood pressure.
PCT Application Publication WO 10/035,271 to Gross describes apparatus for reducing hypertension of a subject. A selective circumferential pressure applicator includes at least two surfaces that increase baroreceptor activity of the subject, by applying pressure to an artery of the subject at two or more respective non-contiguous regions around the circumference of the artery, at a longitudinal site of the artery, such that between the non-contiguous regions, at the longitudinal site (a) there is at least one region of the artery that is more relaxed than in the absence of the device, and (b) there is at least one region of the artery that is more tense than in the absence of the device. A joint couples the surfaces to each other. For at least a portion of the subject's cardiac cycle, the joint does not contact the subject's artery. Other applications are also provided.
US Patent Application Publication 2008/0033501 to Gross describes apparatus for treating hypertension of a subject. The apparatus includes an implantable element which has a non-circular shape and which is configured to reduce the hypertension by facilitating an assumption of a non-circular shape by a blood vessel in a vicinity of a baroreceptor of the subject, during diastole of the subject. Other embodiments are also described.
CVRx (Minneapolis, Minn.) manufactures the CVRx®Rheos Baroreflex Hypertension Therapy System, an implantable medical device for treating subjects with high blood pressure.
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